Kevin's Watch

It doesn't come down to a choice between believing or not believing in the Land's reality. It comes down to a choice between loving or not loving the Land. There's some psychology mixed into this, with Covenant especially. He came to see Lord Foul as his "inner Despiser," the part of himself and all people that hates lepers. And there is navigating the eye of the contradiction. The contradiction is this: How can Covenant accept his inner Despiser while saving the Land? The Despiser hates the Land as well as all of the Creator's creation. Covenant can accept the Despiser, Lord Foul, and he can accept his inner Despiser, his capacity for hate, and save the Land at the same time. In this way, Covenant successfully negotiated the contradiction between accepting hate and loving/saving the Land.

Yes.

Donaldson keeps telling us, it doesn't matter if the Land is real. Covenant came to learn that it doesn't matter. What matters is standing up for what you believe in.

It may or may not be real, but Covenant believed "in" it. He believed it was important. That it mattered. Even if ultimately it only mattered to himself. Integrity - that is, being whole and healthy - demands that you act on what matters. You can be destroyed in sinister ways by failing to defend what you care about. Even in a dream.

Covenant calls Lord Foul "the part of himself that hates". Does it matter if this is true? Like the Land, it doesn't matter. ("It just doesn't matter!") It only ever mattered as a way to rationalize the Land being a dream or being real. What matters is Covenant believes this, and that's why he fights. For Covenant, feeling partially responsible for Lord Foul's depredations is what keeps him going. It's his subtle subterfuge.

"Accept" is the perfect word here. "Accepting Lord Foul" isn't about believing that Lord Foul belongs. It's about accepting that Lord Foul is Covenant's responsibility. Then it is about accepting that Lord Foul is Covenant's fault. And then there is a final form of acceptance, not to be spoken of in this forum.

Covenant accepts Foul as his burden to bear, and that is why he defends the Land, despite it's ambiguous reality.

in the intro of Gilden-Fire, SRD wrote:Since it cannot stand on its own as an independent story, GILDEN-FIRE will surely not be read by anyone unfamiliar with 'The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever.' And those readers know that the question of whether or not the Land is ultimately 'real' (whether or not a character like Korik is sufficiently 'actual' to serve as a narrative view-point) no longer matters. In reality as in dreams, what matters is the answer we find in our hearts to the test of Despite.

In reality as in dreams, what matters is the answer we find in our hearts to the test of Despite.

Fist and Faith wrote:

in the intro of Gilden-Fire, SRD wrote:Since it cannot stand on its own as an independent story, GILDEN-FIRE will surely not be read by anyone unfamiliar with 'The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever.' And those readers know that the question of whether or not the Land is ultimately 'real' (whether or not a character like Korik is sufficiently 'actual' to serve as a narrative view-point) no longer matters. In reality as in dreams, what matters is the answer we find in our hearts to the test of Despite.

In reality as in dreams, what matters is the answer we find in our hearts to the test of Despite.

What's the test of Despite?

Nothing specific. Just however you're being tested by evil. The characters were all tested in different ways.

Fist and Faith wrote:Nothing specific. Just however you're being tested by evil. The characters were all tested in different ways.

What's an example of being tested by evil?

+JMJ+

thewormoftheworld'send wrote:

Fist and Faith wrote:Nothing specific. Just however you're being tested by evil. The characters were all tested in different ways.

What's an example of being tested by evil?

Wosbald wrote:+JMJ+

thewormoftheworld'send wrote:

Fist and Faith wrote:Nothing specific. Just however you're being tested by evil. The characters were all tested in different ways.

What's an example of being tested by evil?

Bwahaha hahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!

thewormoftheworld'send wrote:What's an example of being tested by evil?

The Giants' hope that the prophesied birth of triplets would lead to their return home was turned to horror when the Ravers used shards of the Illearth Stone to possess them.

Fist and Faith wrote:

thewormoftheworld'send wrote:What's an example of being tested by evil?

The Giants' hope that the prophesied birth of triplets would lead to their return home was turned to horror when the Ravers used shards of the Illearth Stone to possess them.

Okay, good. But my question is, what did that do to Covenant? What did Lord Foul or any of his minions directly do to Covenant?

thewormoftheworld'send wrote:Okay, good. But my question is, what did that do to Covenant? What did Lord Foul or any of his minions directly do to Covenant?

I don't understand this question.

Are you (a) looking for evidence that Lord Foul ever "directly did something" to Covenant, because you dispute this? (b) looking to refresh your memory because you cannot remember any of these occasions? or (c) looking for someone to enumerate details about something you generally agree happened.

I don't want to respond in the wrong way.

I am not positive about your question either. But if you mean as far as directly try to kill or injury him = I would say Lord Foul did not know how far Covenant would go with White Gold. Lord Foul not only had to determine how to access White Gold but prevent himself from being eliminated if White Gold was used in a manner Lord Foul was not prepared for.


So one of Lord Fouls main focus was to make Covenant crack psychologically, his resolve, his will, his self worth.